New Movies and TV to Stream, March 23

Yes, it’s the weekend again, and there’s a lot of good new additions on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime, so let’s get right to it!

HULU

The most exciting new add on Hulu this week has to be The Act, the limited 2019 series starring Patricia Arquette and Joey King. In this true-crime series, Arquette plays a mom, DeeDee Blanchard, alleged to have had Munchausen syndrome by proxy , leading her to fabricate symptoms of disease her daughter, and to abuse her, as well. Which leads to a murderous conclusion. The series also stars Chloe Sevigny, AnnaSophia Robb and Calum Worthy and the acting here is great. This show gets an 8.9/10 on IMDb, and the two leads are very good, but keep in mind, it is also upsetting and graphic. If you want something lighter after that, Hulu has added Tea With Dames, the 2018 documentary directed by Roger Mitchell. In this wonderful movie, you get to listen in to conversation with Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright, Eileen Atkins and Judi Dench, as they discuss their lives as stars in the 60‘s, their famous husbands(Laurence Olivier, for one) and growing old, but it’s not the usual blather you hear in countless interviews, it’s more spontaneous and bawdy, honest and sometimes shocking. And the movie gets a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.3/10 on IMDb. And it’s some well deserved attention to these four iconic actors. And, if you need some horror, Hulu has added the Israeli vampire series, Juda. This series focuses on a petty criminal and hustler, Juda Ben–Chayim(played by Tzion Baruch), who is bitten by a beautiful vampire in Romania, but this isn’t your average vampire story, because Juda is Jewish, inherently dangerous to other vampires. He is told it is his destiny to destroy all other vampires. Juda also stars Amos Tamam,Mike Burstyn, Anastasia Fein and Morris Cohen. This isn’t just horror, but a gritty, violent, funny mash-up of horror, sci-fi and action series all rolled into one. There are eight episodes on Hulu now, and Season 2 is already in production, and it gets a 6.9/10 on IMDb. Hulu has also added Divide and Conquer, the 2018 doc about Roger Ailes, former head of Fox News. Directed by Alexis Bloom(Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds) , this film covers the full arc of Ailes‘ career, starting as an adviser to Richard Nixon, helping to create Fox News and trying to change political discourse in this country, contributing significantly to political division in this country and finally, his ignominious end, with the many accusations of sexual harassment and endemic misogyny at Fox News, in 2016. The New York Times says of this movie, “Bloom has assembled footage that seems chilling in retrospect,”including a scene where Ailes “jokes that if you want to have political influence and still get away with womanizing, journalism is the career for you.” And, it gets a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes. Don’t miss it. And, finally, Hulu has added Girl Most Likely, the 2012 comedy starring Kristen Wiig. In this film Wiig stars as a playwright, Imogene Duncan, who stages a suicide attempt, to regain her ex-boyfriend’s attentions, only to be released from the hospital, into her mother’s(played by Annette Benning!) custody. The real problem is that Imogene believes she can no longer write, having once won a prestigious grant, but not coming through with a play. This movie has a spectacular cast, aside from Wiig and Benning, with Julia Stiles, Matt Dillon, Christopher Fitzgerald and even Andrea Martin(!). It got only a 22% on Rotten Tomatoes, but it has such a wonderful cast, I had to include it, and it does get a 5.8/10 on IMDb. I’m checking it out.

NETFLIX

Netflix doesn’t have a lot added this week, but there are a few notable adds, like Mirage, the 2018 Spanish sci-fi drama. In this movie, Andriana Ugarte stars as a woman, who travelling through time, saves the life of a little boy 25 years in the past, only to return to find she’s lost her daughter. She must fight to get her back. It also stars Chino Darin, Noro Naras, Clara Segura, Aina Clotet, Javier Gutierez and Mima Riera and is directed by Oriol Paulo. There are not many reviews of this film available, but Insider says it’s been described as a cross between Doctor Who and the “Butterfly”effect, and also resembles Frequency, with Jim Caviezel. And it gets a 7.5/10 on IMDb. It’s on my list. Also, new on Netflix, is Green Door, a Taiwanese horror series from 2019. It stars Jam Hsiao as a psychologist who returns from the U.S., to open a practice in Taiwan, but finds trouble patients who help him discover secrets about his own past. It also stars Ying-Xuan Hsieh(especially good!), Bea Hayden Kuo, Enno Chung, Jason King and Lan Wei-Hua, and it’s an especially attractive horror movie for me, as Heaven of Horror calls it very funny and not too scary! And it gets a 7.4/10 on IMDb. if you want something more horrifying , Netflix has added The Order, a 2019 series created by Dennis Heaton. In this 10 episode series, Jake Manley stars as a college student who, out to avenge his mother’s murder, joins the Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose, a secret society that teaches and practices magic. This leads to all sorts of trouble, as you might guess, including a war between werewolves and practicers of magic. It also stars Sarah Grey, Sam Trammell, Matt Frewer(!), Katharine Isabelle, Devery Jacobs and Jewell Staite. The trailer is way to scary for me, but IMDb gives it a 7/10. Also new on Netflix is 5 Flights Up, the 2014 comedy/drama starring Diane Keaton and Morgan Freeman. Keaton and Freeman star as an older couple, who finally feel they have to move from their 5 story walk-up, with no elevator. They have other issues, including their aging dog and of course, the price of a new apartment. It also stars Cynthia Nixon, Carrie Preston, Miriam Shor, Korey Jackson,Claire van der Boom and Joanna P. Adler and is directed by James Loncraine. This didn’t get wonderful reviews, it only gets a 47% on Rotten Tomatoes, but with Keaton and Freeman you can’t lose, and it gets a 6.2/10 on IMDb, so I’m watching. And, finally, Netflix has added All About Nina, a 2018 comedy starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead. In this dark comedy, Winstead stars as Nina Geld, a controversial stand up comedian, who finds that just as her career is going up, her romantic life becomes troubled. It also stars Common, Chace Crawford, Clea Duvall , Kate del Castillo and Beau Bridges and is directed by Eve Vives. This movie realistically portrays the difficulties for a woman artist in today’s culture and Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun Times said “delivers one of her most memorable performances as “ Nina. And it gets an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes and 5.7/10 on IMDb.

AMAZON

Amazon has the most exciting addition this week, with Cold War, the 2018 historical drama from director Paweł Pawlikowski,(Last Resort, My Summer of Love). It’s set in Poland and France from the ’40’s to ’60’s, and studies the romance of a musical director and a singer, and it’s loosely based on the lives of his parents. It stars Joanna Kulig and Tomasz Kot as the lovers, and also features Borys Szyc, Agata Kulesza, Jeanne Balibar and Cédric Kahn and was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Foreign Language and Best Director, and for four at the 72nd British Academy Film Awards, and it won for Best Director at Cannes. And it gets a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.7/10 on IMDb. Amazon Prime as also added Truman, the 2017 comedy/drama from Spain. In this movie, Ricardo Darin stars as a terminally ill man, who receives a visit from his childhood friend Tomás,played by Javier Cámara, and they arrange for his funeral and most importantly, the care of his dog, Truman. It also stars Dolores Fonzi, Eduard Fernández,Àlex Brendemühl, Pedro Casablanc and Elvira Mínguez and is directed by Cesc Gay. It won five Goya Awards, and it was awarded the Silver Shell for Best Actor for Darín and Cámara at the 2015 San Sebastián International Film Festival. And it gets a stunning 99% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.3/10 on IMDb. And, finally, Amazon has added The King, a 2018 documentary movie road trip across the country. Taken in Elvis’ 1963 Rolls Royce, director Eugene Jarecki(Freakonomics, The Trials of Henry Kissinger)travels around the country with different notables in the back seat, from Chuck D., to Alec Baldwin to James Carville, as they observe Elvis has lost relevance as the country has lost the American Dream. Brad Wheeler of the Globe and Mail, says of this film “provocative and at times unwieldy, The King is something of a stoned CNN Special Report on wheels,” and I think that sums it up. And it gets a 77% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 6.8/10 on IMDb.

So sit back and relax this weekend with classics new and old, online, at Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime!